Amid rising maintenance costs, Wild Rapids Waterslide Park in the Canadian province of Alberta will cease operations after the 2016 season.

The Sylvan Lake park opened its doors in 1982 and has since evolved into a major family attraction featuring numerous waterslides and wetplay attractions.

A statement from the park’s operator, Bear Development Corporation, read: “Every year upgrades to the waterpark are completed in order to comply with building code and health and safety regulations. These have been completed every year.

“Today, we are faced with having to complete major renovations and improvements in order to meet the new building code, health and safety requirements. These include replacing some of the slides as well as the mechanical infrastructure which means that we would need to close for a season in order to complete the work.

“As a result, we completed a budget in order to determine the feasibility of completing the improvements and still maintain a reasonable family fee structure that would be affordable.

“The end result of our analysis confirmed that it was not economically feasible for us to complete the improvements and meet our objective. Consequently, 2016 will the last year that the Wild Rapids Water Park will be operating.”

The operator added: “It has been a privilege for us to watch so many young people visit year after year and enjoy the waterpark. Most important, we thank all the young people who joined us year after year working as lifeguards, attendants and cashiers making a day at Wild Rapids a memorable experience for all our visitors.”